


Packs of Cigarettes

by EliseKing, Maedelmae



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Bashing, Fic Adopted, Homelessness, I don't remember the rest of the plot elements in this story, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Matureish due to swearing, Slytherin Harry Potter, Underage Smoking, Wrong Boy-Who-Lived (Harry Potter), alternate universe - wrong boy who lived, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2019-12-07 02:50:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18228896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EliseKing/pseuds/EliseKing, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maedelmae/pseuds/Maedelmae
Summary: In this universe, Harry Potter is an orphan, but he is not the boy-who-lived. After maltreatment from his only living relatives, he runs away and meets someone he looks up to.How will Harry cope when he is introduced to the wizarding world when he is eleven?Attention: Story has now been adopted





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yuh boys and people who aren't boys, I'm sure that if you look at the other fics I have posted, you will notice a pattern in the way that I have been posting abandoned works. I'm just posting my old stories in hopes someone like the idea enough to adopt it and expand. 
> 
> This is what I had written in the document for notes, I have no recollection of where I was wanting to go with the story:
> 
> In this world, Harry Potter is not famous, merely a child whose parents died while trying to oppose the dark Lord. Neville Longbottom is the boy who lived. His parents are still alive however so he is not as timid as he was portrayed in canon. Though he still has anxiety, it is not nearly as major as it was originally. The reasons for this change, is because I love Neville and I don't think he deserved half of what he went through. Harry, I feel is my favorite person in this whole world and so I like manipulating his circumstances. Occasionally, I will include my reasons for things in the notes of the chapter. Harry will not be paired with anybody, though he has a lot of deep platonic relationships. Another reason I didn't make Harry the boy-who-lived is that I'm a lazy person who has an idea in their head. This idea could have been ruined if Harry was famous. He is still known as the lost son of the Lords. I will explain it later in the story. 
> 
> I also know a couple of words in German, but I am not proficient in it so I am using Google translate, I hope this doesn't offend any German speakers. If there is a mistake, please correct me and I will be happy to fix it
> 
> '''''
> 
> This was supposed to be several chapters, but fuck it I'm tired, so this whole block of text is gonna stay that way, and not split up like originally intended.

He had just ran out of his last carton of cigarettes. He was angry at himself for it. If he didn't fall asleep under that bridge then somebody wouldn't have taken his money and other carton of cigs. He grumbled quietly as he walked through a dark alley, despite the sun blazing overhead. He preferred the dark. There were many more places to hide from authorities and “good samaritans”. He would accept very few handouts, one could never tell the true intentions of other,as he had unfortunately found out when some man offering him food tried to kidnap him. He had avoided that situation with a switchblade he had stolen off of another homeless person. 

Back to his current situation, Harry was all out of cigarettes and now his hands were shaking while his anxiety and paranoia rose. He heard a crash from a nearby dumpster and he jumped three feet in the air. It was a cat. He continued his shaky walk slowly, no destination except for more cigarettes and somewhere to sleep. He walked for a couple more hours before he was able to lift enough money for another pack of cigs. He happily smoked one as he went on his way, looking for another place to sleep for that night. 

He had been thrown out of his aunt and uncle's house when he was six years old. He had just been beaten within an inch of his life, when his aunt muttered something about “throwing the runt out” and his uncle decided it was a better idea than keeping him around. They threw him unceremoniously into the backseat of his uncle's car and drove an undetermined amount of time and then dumped him on the sidewalk. He later discovered that they had left him in the outskirts of London. He had been living on the streets for a long time and was steadily getting the hang of it. At first, he was terrified. He had woken up covered in his own blood and he had both an infection, and a fever. He managed to crawl into an abandoned warehouse and stayed there for awhile. He survived the fever filled days without food or water before somebody found him. It was another kid, older than him and dressed in rags. A cigarette was perched behind his ear. 

The kid picked him up and took him to a palette on the floor before laying him down and opening a bottle of water.  
“Looks like you got it rough kid. Even my family didn't beat me. But I guess they're dead anyway so they didn't really get the chance.” He gently soothed Harry's whimpers and ran his fingers through his hair like a bigger brother. Harry, who had never felt affection in his life, happily leaned into the touch; his fever raged mind didn't think about possible punishments for such acts. Harry felt so hot, like his tiny body was set on fire. He was miserable. 

Two weeks of careful tending provided by Apsel, the older boy. During those two weeks, Apsel told him all about his life, these stories and anecdotes was sprinkled with advice that Harry squirreled away in his mind. His stories and went from his hometown Kiel. Kiel was a very cold place in northern Germany that sat on the coast. His mom and little sister had drowned in an unexpected storm and his father immigrated to England with him before dying of pneumonia four years ago. He had lived on the streets of London since then.  
“This life is a hard one Liebling 1,” he said quite often. 

When Harry got better, the first thing that improved was his eyesight. As such, he was able to make out Apsel’s face better. He had white blond hair and was very pale, his eyes were sea blue, and his face was soft. The two steadily grew closer and took on the roles of father and son. Apsel was 16 at the time, while Harry was an underfed, small six year old. They worked well together and never separated. Apsel taught Harry different tricks to use to get enough money to survive. But he also taught him integrity, kindness, humbleness, and honesty when he could help it. Harry's pseudo-father taught him to write and read as well as certain manners he had picked up in Germany when his mother hosted parties. Despite having a name already, Apsel even gave Harry a German name, Bem, for bear. Harry loved it and started going by Bem instead of Harry. 

Two years had quickly passed in the blink of an eye. Harry was eight years old and was smarter than the average child, something Apsel took great pride in. The date was insignificant to them that day. It was February 6, 1988. The weather was cold and there was still snow covering the ground. Apsel and Harry set out on a walk together to unfreeze their toes. It was an okay walk, they had eaten that morning so the mood was good. They had walked passed an alley when the men jumped them. There were three guys in total, all bigger than Apsel and a hell of a lot bigger than Harry. They - the muggers - demanded cash that neither Apsel or Harry had. The men quickly got angry and the one on the very right, closest to Harry, brought out a knife. Harry couldn't stop the tears from spilling over. Apsel inched his way over to Harry and tried to maneuver Harry away as fast as possible. He wasn't fast enough as the knife went into his chest, wedged between his ribs. 

The men looked at each other and ran away as Apsel sunk to the ground, Harry rushing towards him to try and help. Apsel had tried removing the knife, but the blade was three inches long and had pierced his lung. Within minutes, blood was coming out of Apsel’s mouth with each raspy breath he took. Harry, who had started crying harder at this point, tried frantically to stop the blood from oozing out of his adoptive father.  
“Harry, mein Liebling 1, it's okay… Life on the streets is never a long one… I'm lucky to have made it this long… I'm lucky to have met you… Ich liebe dich, mein Sohn, mein kleiner2… do not weep to hard for me… Maybe I will see meine Mutter und Vater 3 again… Do not weep too hard for me.” His dying words were littered with rasps and coughs that brought more blood to Apsel’s lips. He had brought his weakening arm over to Harry's head and combed his fingers through his hair one last time before he went limp, the rasps stopped. Harry screamed and pleaded for him to wake up, understanding this would be the last time he ever saw Apsel. Unknown to him, his magic had flared and he had frozen everything around him. He sat there staring at the gradually freezing body of his once father for a long time before reaching to Apsel’s face and closing his eyes. He reached into his pockets and took the few pounds, pocket knife, and picture of them that had resided in his pockets. The ground thawed around them and a flower sprouted from between the cracks in the cement. He would leave Bem here with Apsel. 

Harry wiped his eyes, pocketed Apsel’s carried belongings and trekked to the warehouse they had stayed at for the winter. He grabbed a backpack and shoved all of the necessities inside. Before leaving, he spotted a pack of cigarettes that Apsel must have left behind on accident. He opened the pack and took out a cigarette before lighting it with a nearby lighter. He took a drag and coughed immediately. His eyes started watering as he persistently smoked the whole cigarette. 

By the time he was ten and a half years old, Harry was better at surviving on his own. He was unknown to almost everybody with few exceptions, but he never got close to anybody. Not after losing Apsel. His heart was crushed and shriveled and he spoke to no one unless it was absolutely necessary. He knew that Apsel told him to move on, but it was hard. Apsel was the first person to ever show Harry love, and he would never forget that. 

Two months before his eleventh birthday, he got a letter. While this itself was odd, it was the method in which it was delivered that was baffling. A great barn owl (not native to the area) swooped down and landed on the rotting chair in the shelter he found as it was raining heavily outside. The bird held out the letter and Harry took it. He stroked the bird's feathers a couple of times before apologizing that he had no food. The bird seemed to have nodded it's understanding at the unfortunate situation, but stayed perched there nonetheless. Harry looked at the letter carefully. On the front of the envelope was elegant black calligraphy stating his name, and what he supposed was supposed to be an address. ‘Harry Potter / London, England’. He would've laughed because really this whole situation was ridiculous, but he couldn't find it in himself to bring forth any noise. He turned the letter around and saw that the envelope was sealed with wax and a crest pressed into it. What the seal was for, he was clueless. He opened the letter.  
‘Mr. Harry Potter, 

You have been accepted to attend Hogwarts: school of witchcraft and wizardry. Please return a letter by owl to confirm attendance. The letter must be sent before the day of July 31, 1991. All school supplies must be gathered before term starts September 1 (see attached list for what is required).

Minerva McGonagall,  
Deputy Headmistress  
Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’ 

What the heck. A magic school? Harry looked back at the owl who was preening it's feathers calmly.  
“Is this real?” He addressed the bird. The bird looked up and blinked at him. Harry flipped the page to the supply list. 

‘First-year students will require:

Uniform  
Three Sets of Plain Work Robes (Black)  
One Plain Pointed Hat (Black) for day wear  
One Pair of Protective Gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
One Winter Cloak (Black, silver fastenings)  
Please note that all student's clothes should carry name-tags at all times.

Books  
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk  
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot  
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling  
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch  
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore  
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger  
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander  
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment  
1 Wand  
1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set of glass or crystal phials  
1 telescope  
1 set of brass scales

Students may also bring an Owl, a Cat or a Toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.’

This time he did laugh, although it was really more of a chuckle. He looked again at the bird.  
“You are supposed to wait for my reply, yes?” The owl got a look in its eyes that Harry supposed meant something. He dig around in his overly large pockets and found a notepad and a pen he took from somewhere. He quickly penned out his response, trying as hard as possible to relay his intelligence.  
“To whom it may concern, 

This is a missive to confirm my attendance at Hogwarts: school of witchcraft and wizardry. As such, I am in need of school supplies. I fear that I have no money for the supplies, nor do I know a place to access everything required. If it is possible, could I perhaps get assistance with the supplies whether it be financial or otherwise. Anything is greatly appreciated. 

Yours,  
Harry Potter.”

With that over and written, he put it back in the Hogwarts envelope and sealed it back up. He gave the letter to the owl, and the owl flew off. It dawned on Harry later that night that he never told the owl who he was writing to. He shrugged the thought of and curled up under a bench in the shelter still. 

.oOo.

Severus was pissed off. He had been summoned to the headmaster's office and he was not in the mood. Not that he ever was, but now he was especially peeved. He had to deal with a failing potion that he had invested a lot of time in that morning when he was floo’d by Albus Dumbledore. He had to restrain himself from throwing the cauldron across the room before storming out and stomping to Albus’ office. When he got to the gargoyle in front of his office, he gritted his teeth and spoke the password.  
“Candy Floss” the gargoyle hopped to the left and revealed the staircase. He swept up the stairs and took a deep breath before he knocked on the door. The door swung open and he stepped inside. The headmaster was sitting at his desk looking at a paper on the large desk in front of him. He walked over to the desk and stood in front of it patiently. The headmaster looked up at him after a good minute. Severus was secretly worried about what the headmaster had called him for as it did not seem as trivial as he originally thought.  
“Ah, Severus, glad to see you are here…” He trailed off.  
“Yes, now what is it you called me up for? I was busy with brewing.”  
“Mmm, sorry about that, but I found this matter to be most important.” It was getting on Severus’ nerves that the headmaster kept pausing his speech.  
“And what, pray tell, is this matter you've found most important?”  
“It's about Harry Potter -- and before you say anything, just read this.” Severus sneered before a letter was handed to him. It was written on a ratty piece of lined paper from the muggle world and was definitely not written by a quill. He opened it and was faced with handwriting that was easily legible and was in fact beautiful and loopy. The contents, however, were vastly different than what he expected. The letter read thus,  
“To whom it may concern,  
This is a missive to confirm my attendance at Hogwarts: school of witchcraft and wizardry. As such, I am in need of school supplies. I fear that I have no money for the supplies, nor do I know a place to access everything required. If it is possible, could I perhaps get assistance with the supplies whether it be financial or otherwise. Anything is greatly appreciated.  
Yours,  
Harry Potter.”  
To say Severus was surprised was an understatement. He was downright shocked, not that he showed it. The facts presented in this letter were… Different than what he expected the boy capable of. Everything from the vocabulary to the content. The content was the most surprising. The boy thought he had no money, and didn't know of diagon alley. He looked up at the headmaster, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. Albus sighed heavily.  
“Yes it is true. I am afraid that we have failed.”  
“Failed at what exactly, and why is it ‘we’?”  
“Here is where the boys letter was delivered.” He handed an envelope to Severus. The letter itself was insignificant. The same type of envelope used everywhere in the wizarding world. However, the address, having something to do with the boy, was vastly irregular. On the back of the envelope, it said “Hadrian Potter / London, England.” There was no address, no exact location. No nothing.  
“I left the boy with relatives in Surrey, little whinging.” Dumbledore said after a minute. What?! The boy, who was left with relatives in little whinging, is in an unknown location in England.  
“We are going to have to track the boy down if he is to attend school.”  
“Let me guess, you are wanting me to do it.” Dumbledore smiled at that for the first time that meeting.  
“Can you keep this under your hat. I don't want this spread all over the daily profit, Merlin knows it will happen sooner or later, so let's keep it later.” Severus understood this, and was planning on keeping it secret if only to maintain his sanity.  
“I'll start immediately so as to get it over with sooner.”  
“Thank you Severus.” Severus swept out of the office with a swoosh of his robes. 

 

Severus was getting increasingly agitated as time went on. It had been a month since he had started his search and he was getting nowhere. He had went to the boy's relative's house to see what happened. While there, he discovered the boy had originally lived with Petunia Evans. His mother's sister. When asked where the boy was, the horse-like woman answered that the child probably didn't survive because she “dumped the freak where he belonged, in the trash”. To say this horrified him, would be an overstatement. He was sickened of course, he wasn't completely uncaring, but he was more angry at her than anything. How dare she dump a child in the trash, and it wasn't even her child! Her child was balloon like, and currently eating his weight in sweets in the next room. He left for London, the last place the child was known to be. After wandering around the poorer parts of London, he decided to use some of his lesser known muggle contacts. 

After talking to them, he discovered that a couple years ago there was a man with a kid that roamed around back streets but then the guy died and the kid disappeared. This was not very inspiring in his search, but since he had proof the child was okay, he figured that his disappearance was self imposed. This brought him back to step one. He continued running around London with no trace of the child. 

It was a coincidence that he was passing by that particular Alleyway when a little boy ran into him, almost knocking him over. The child recovered quickly and looked around for something, his eyes wide. Severus looked closer at the child. The boy had long curly black hair and big bright green eyes. His skin was smooth and his features aristocratic. The child was very short for his supposed age, having the stature of an right year old instead of his actual 10 years. He looked just like James and Lily Potter. 

He found Harry Potter, and on accident. 

“Am I correct to assume you are Harry Potter?”  
“Who’s asking?” The boy looked paranoid as he blew out air and ran his fingers through his hair. His eyes shone with suspicion. ‘At least the boy is cautious,’ Severus thought.  
“I am a professor at Hogwarts, I am to take you shopping for your supplies. If you are ready of course.” The boy looked around quickly and his fingers twitched.  
“Yeah… I'm ready.” He said quietly, his voice never rising from it's soft volume. 

Severus started walking towards the main street, stopping occasionally to make sure the child was following him. When they both reached a somewhat slow street, Severus took out his wand and summoned the Knight bus. They both got on. 

 

Harry was very confused. He was running away from somebody that he had pick pocketed when he ran into a professor at his new school. How the professor knew who he was in the first place didn't matter at the moment. He wasn't thinking clearly. He had run into a rough patch lately and hadn't eaten or smoked in three days. His fingers were twitchy and his stomach was achy. The professor, whose name wasn't given, led him to the street and took out what Harry presumed was a wand. The man swung his wand in a vertical motion and a bus came driving up. He clambered on the vehicle behind the graceful professor and sat down next to him. 

As the bus started, he noticed there was no real driver. Instead, there was a man standing next to a shrunken head on the rear view mirror. This confused him. The professor leaned over to whisper something to him.  
“Hang on to something if you don't want to go flying when the bus starts.” He literally grabbed in to the edge of his seat, unwilling to show weakness again around the man. The ride started and he was jolted a little bit, but after a minute gained his bearing, although he was starting to grow nauseous. 

After what seemed like half an hour, the bus stopped at what Harry thought was a bar. He was correct in his assumption that The Leaky Cauldron was a bar, but it was also a restaurant, inn, and the entrance to Diagon Alley, as his professor told him. They walked through the bar and to the Alley out back. The professor tapped out a pattern on the brick wall and went through the opening. Harry quickly scrambled through the hole as well, determined to not lose his way or his mind in this new world. They walked through the Alley until they stopped at a big white structure that the professor told him was a bank. 

Standing guard at the large doors, were creatures that he was told were goblins. Not sure how he was to go about around these creatures he bowed. If they were guarding a bank, they must be important. His assessment must have been correct because immediately the guards returned the bow, surprised looks on their faces (or what he assumed was surprise anyway, their faces were hard to read). They walked up to one of the tellers and the professor was asked what their business was. He thought both the professor and the goblin were rude to each other and vowed to not act that way, like he was above others. For he truly wasn't. 

After what seemed like a polite but equally insulting argument, the boy was lead to an office in back. The professor was told to wait outside the room, and with an eyeroll, he did. Harry bowed to the goblin behind the desk and stood there was waiting to be told what to do. With a look of both delight and surprise, the Goblin asked him to sit after nodding his acknowledgement to the bow. He sat down slowly and paid full attention to the goblin.  
“Well, the reason you've been brought back here is because we need to make sure you are who you say you are.” Harry nodded. It made sense, he couldn't realistically withdraw mystery money without some kind of thing that confirmed his identity.  
“To confirm your identity, we will be performing a goblin ritual that is commonly used in similar situations, but this one is more in depth because of your supposed status. It will not only discern who you are, but will list relations, magical blocks, and even say if you've had memories removed or altered.” Many questions were circulating through Harry’s head. Was he actually someone of importance?  
“I have a question sir, why is the test I'm taking more advanced than the others?”  
“Well, young wizard, if you are Harry Potter, then you are heir and Lord to several different families. Because of this, you are known as the lost son of the lords.”  
“Why am I the Lost son?”  
“When your parents were killed October 31, 1981, you were lost. Missing, people assumed you were either kidnapped by the death eaters or someone else.” Before Harry could ask another question, the goblin started explaining what a death eater was. The prospect of a dark Lord was borderline horrifying in Harry's mind, but not because he was a dark wizard, but because he was a Lord. He was the lost son of the lords so he guessed he would have to get used to that prospect. 

The goblin pulled out a sheet of parchment and laid it out on the desk next to a relatively small dagger. Then, he set a White crystal on top of the parchment.  
“Here child,” the goblin handed him the dagger, “prick your finger with this. Drop ten drops of blood onto the crystal and we will have the results in five minutes.” Seemed simple enough. Harry did as he was told, and five minutes later, the crystal released an ink that covered the sheet of parchment. The ink spread until it was completely covering the sheet and then the ink seemed to spike up and steam away, leaving words. It was a fascinating process to watch. The page was handed to him. 

“Magic Name: Hadrian Ophiuchus Peverell-Potter-Gaunt-Slytherin-Gryffindor-Ravenclaw-Emrys-Lefay-Black

Given name: Harry James Potter

Adopted name: Bem Hertz

Relations:  
Mother: Lily Rose Lefay (Potter)  
Father: James Fleamont Potter  
Godfather: Sirius Orion Black  
Godmother: Alice Morgana Emrys (Longbottom)  
Grandparents:  
Maternal:  
Anne Aubergine Evans (Lefay)  
Septimius Courgette Lefay  
Paternal:  
Dorea Francesca Black (Potter)  
Fleamont Luther Potter  
Titles:  
Peverell - lordship  
Potter - lordship  
Gaunt - lordship  
Slytherin - heirship  
Gryffindor - heirship  
Ravenclaw - heirship  
Emrys - lordship  
Lefay - lordship  
Black - heirship

Blocks :  
Magical core: 50% (Albus Dumbledore)  
IQ: 75% (Albus Dumbledore)  
Metamorphmagus: 100% (Albus Dumbledore)  
Occlumency: 95% (Albus Dumbledore)  
Legilimency: 95% (Albus Dumbledore)  
Animagus (5): 100% (Albus Dumbledore)  
Parseltongue: 100% (Albus Dumbledore) (broken)  
Elementals: Water: 100%  
Fire: 100%  
Air: 100%  
Earth: 100%  
(Albus Dumbledore) 

Obliviates:  
31/10/1981 - 5/11/81 (AD)  
7/4/1984 (AD) 

Compulsions:

Against: Malfoy Family, Slytherins, Severus Snape, Dark Magic, the Dark Lord, Dark and Grey Families. 

Aligned: Weasley Family, Gryffindors, Light magic, Albus Dumbledore, light families, the minister.”

To say Harry was upset, was a severe understatement. He sat there in shock after handing the page to the goblin. After a minute of silence, the goblin spoke.  
“Well, I guess you are the lost son of the lord's.” Harry nodded. “I suppose we are going to have to remove those blocks and compulsions, yes?” Harry, unable to speak, simply nodded again. The goblin stood up and exited the room. Harry, or Hadrian as he supposed (or even Bem, as the paper said), starred at the wall for a while before the goblin came back and asked him to follow. 

As they left the room, they passed by his professor -- whose name he still didn't know. The man raised his eyebrow at the procession and Harry shrugged back. He didn't feel obliged to discuss with him all that had gone on and where he was going. 

They entered a stone room that was approximately the size of the office they had come from. Harry was ordered to remove his shirt and stand in the middle. He was wary about showing his scars but he felt strangely safe around the goblins that had formed a circle around him. He did as told and laid down in the strange symbols that covered the floor. A goblin near his head asked him to close his eyes as they started chanting. 

He woke up sometime later. The original goblin -- whose name was Griphook -- was sitting at his desk. Harry sat up slowly, aware that if he went too fast he might grow nauseous. Griphook looked over at him and have what Harry presumed was a grin.  
“Ah, young mage, good of you to join us again.” Harry threw him a questioning look. Griphook looked in a different direction, urging Harry to follow his kind of sight. It was the professor.  
“Yes, yes, how good of you.” The man joked, not that anyone could tell.  
Harry leaned back against the couch he found himself in.  
“What happened?” He croaked.  
“We goblins have removed all blocks, compulsions and obliviates inflicted upon you. As such, you may feel maladjusted at the moment. This is perfectly understandable. You will feel better in a little bit.”  
“Alright, thank you Griphook.” He turned to the professor, “Will we continue shopping after this?”  
“I suppose so, if you are feeling up to it.” Harry went back to addressing Griphook.  
“What does having a lordship entitle, sir?” Taken aback by the title given to him, Griphook answered a second later than he would've liked.  
“Well, you would be entitled to both Lord and heir rings for all of your titles as well as everything in the family vaults, properties, and all seats and votes in both the wizengamot and the ministry court. If you would like, I could become your being manager. In doing this, I could keep track of finances and repossess stolen things.”  
“I think that would be for the best.” Harry said quietly. The goblin nodded his approval at the boy's actions. 

After the Lord and heir rings were given to him and he withdrew money from one of his trust vaults (and a bag that was connected directly to his vaults (it even changed wizarding money to muggle pounds)), he and the professor left the bank with a bow and a thank you on Harry's part, the man beside him merely did there with a blank expression on his face. Harry took his list of needed supplies from a pocket and set off to collect everything. 

The robes shop was unnecessarily hands on, in Harry's opinion, but he walked out of the situation with three new school robes, fifteen casual robes, two winter cloaks, and three dress robes. The bookstore was great and he grabbed many more books than he had originally intended to. The books ranged from subjects like potions to astronomy to runes and then magical theory. In the trunk shop, he selected a dark brown chest with gold fastenings and two library compartments (each held up to 500 books), one compartment was a full wardrobe and the last two were password protected unlimited spaces that were undetectable. He didn't want to get a pet, so he didn't. He went to the wizard equivalent of an office supply store and got quills, parchment, his telescope and any other supply he thought he needed (two journals and several handwriting pamphlets). Next was the apothecary, professor Snape (his name was called by the shop owner) went off on his own direction as Harry grabbed everything on the list (as well as another cauldron and the different stirrers).

The wand shop was odd to say the least. It started off with an old man rasping his name somewhere in the back of the shop. This was both unnerving and annoying for many different reasons. Again, a lot of unnecessary contact, but at the end of trying wand after wand, it was worth it when he took a dark wooded wand from Mr. Ollivander and golden sparks flew through the air with a warm feeling flooding him. 12 inches, firm, dark oak, with thestral hair core.  
“Interesting. Very interesting.” Harry rolled his eyes.  
“What's ‘Very Interesting’?”  
“Thestrals can only be seen by people who have witnessed death, but the hair of a thestral can only be harvested by those who have accepted death. Young man, I am sorry for your loss.” The rapid explanation that ended with an apology was too much for Harry.  
“How much?” He almost snapped.  
“Ten galleons.” He paid the man and left with his professor. 

“Do you have somewhere to stay tonight, boy?” The professor asked mightily. Harry had no reason to discern the man's hostility, he was just trying to leave.  
“Yes, sir.”  
“I trust you can get home? This trip has been longer than intended and I have plans to ready for.”  
“Yes sir, thank you for accompanying me through today.” They started walking away from each other after professor Snape handed him the train ticket and told him how to get to the platform.  
“One more thing, magic outside of school can be punishable by expulsion.” Deciding this might have been nice to tell him earlier, Harry simply nodded and went on his way. 

After going back through the Leaky cauldron, he walked around for awhile before deciding that he should stock up on cigarettes if he wanted to get through the school year. He walked to one of the twenty four hour corner shops and asked one of the homeless men there to buy him several cartons of cigarettes. He did this many times until he had around fifty cartons in his trunk. Content with how the day went, Harry went to the abandoned warehouse he was squatting at and found the backpack he accidentally left. 

He transported the contents from his backpack into the second to last compartment and sealed it. 

.oOo.

The morning of September the first, Harry was scrambling to get all his things in his trunk and have his daily cigarette. He had decided last minute to ask one of the homeless squibs he met to send him cigarettes through owl. They had known each other for a good year, but they weren't ever close enough to be friends. This was a very advantageous deal. He was close to kings Cross station so he didn't have to worry about getting there in time or leaving unnecessarily early. Life was good at the moment for him. He had recently come to terms with Apsel’s role in his life as well as his death. This coming to terms was partially caused by Harry’s adoptive name being accepted by magic and the circumstances his wand was. He still missed Apsel a great deal, but he understands why it happened, unlike when he was freshly eight years old and all alone for the first time since he had met the man. 

Harry sighed heavily and shrunk his trunk (courtesy of the shrinking charm the trunk store owner placed) before crawling out of the warehouse. It was still an hour early, but Harry decided that he should shower and change before heading over to platform 9 ¾. He wanted to make a good impression after all and a haggard little boy wearing tattered clothing was decidedly not how he figured a Lord and heir should look. He went to the leaky cauldron -- it was a little out of his way but a shower at this point in his head was necessary. He ordered a room for an hour and dashed immediately to said room before shedding his filthy clothes and hopping in a blissfully hot shower. 

After his shower, he changed into a pair of his casual robes, unwilling to walk around in both formal and school attire. He walked out of the inn and made his way to the street before summoning the Knight bus. The ride was as unpleasant as the first time he rode, but no matter for he was at the station in five minutes flat. He had braided his now longer hair into a French braid during the ride and felt somewhat presentable as he stepped off the bus. 

He walked calmly to platforms nine and ten and walked through them as if there was no illusion of a wall at all. On the other side, the platform was somewhat crowded but it wasn't as bad as it may have been if he were any later. He weaved his way through the interspersed families and children and climbed onto the bright red train. It was relatively easy to find an empty compartment so he quietly sat down and fished a book from his trunk. He also grabbed a cigarette and lit it, deciding that today would be that kind of a day. Nothing spectacular happened as he read and smoked. The noise grew outside of his compartment and he felt the jolt of the train moving. He had finished smoking his cigarette by then and was now just reading. He opened the window to try and air out the compartment, having briefly forgotten that others found the smell of cigarettes disgusting and unpleasant. 

After an hour of silence and reading in his compartment the door opened. A girl with bushy brown hair and dark caramel skin bust through the door.  
“Have you seen a toad around, Neville Longbottom lost his.” Having no clue who Neville Longbottom was, he thought that this girl was going on a pointless quest.  
“I-” he cleared his throat, it had been awhile since he had last spoken to someone. “I can't say that I have seen a toad in or around this train. Sorry. You might try seeing of an older student can cast a spell to discern the frogs location.” The girl's face grew brighter at the suggestion and left quickly with a thank you thrown over her shoulder. He once again turned to his book. The book was fascinating and explained in depth the process of preparing potion ingredients and why it was important that it be prepared properly. His knowledge and love of cooking shone through as he grew further and further engrossed in the text. 

At some point, he became ignorant of his surroundings and was unpleasantly shocked at someone tapping on his shoulder. He jumped a little bit, and looked towards the offender. It was Apsel. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at his face. It was Apsel, he was here. He could be Bem again. 

 

Draco malfoy was having a rather good day. He was to be going to Hogwarts that very day and nothing could bring him down -- with the exception that he wouldn't be seeing his parents until Yule. Still, his mood was jovial and so were his parents. They were both proud at how he had grown and were eagerly awaiting the news that he had been sorted into Slytherin, even though he hadn't even boarded the train yet. 

At the station, Draco meet several of his pureblood friends. They chatted for a bit before greeting each other's families and what not before saying goodbye to their own. They had boarded the train together -- Draco, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe, Daphne Greengrass, Millicent Bulstrode, and finally Tracy Davis. They piled into an enlarged compartment and sat peacefully chatting about the future. 

It had been not even forty five minutes before some unidentified girl burst in and started asking if anyone had seen Neville Longbottom’s toad. It was quite the show. Draco, who had been in the middle of speaking when she interrupted, had rudely told her that he didn't care where a blasted road hopped off to. The girl scowled and ran off. There was a moment of silence before they all burst into laughter.  
“I can't believe the Neville Longbottom would trick a girl into retrieving his toad!” Pansy roared with laughter, tears in her eyes. The others only laughed harder at this. 

Five minutes later and they were all relatively calmed down. Draco had decided to track down Longbottom and try to start an alliance. Pansy and Blaise joined him, if only for another good laugh. They were working their way down the aisle, occasionally knocking on compartment doors in order to get a precise location of longbottom. At the fourth door, however, Draco did not receive an answer after knocking. He knocked again and again before finally just opening the door. His two companions trailed behind him as he went into the compartment. 

Inside was a small child, way smaller than them. They were immersed in a rather large tome (that most likely being the reason they didn't answer the knocks, Draco understood). He tapped on the child's shoulder and was unprepared when they jumped, almost comically, into the air. The child - the boy - looked at him with a scowl that quickly changed into a hopeful but sad expression. The face, in itself was heartbreaking, but then the boy started tearing up. Draco was taken aback by the behavior (Pansy and Blaise were too).  
“Apsel!” The boy cried “Du bist zurück!” He threw himself at Draco's taller form and wept longingly as the boy spewed out more rapid German. “Es tut mir leid! Apsel!” Draco didn't speak German, but he knew what the language sounded like. He was more concerned about this tiny boy that had latched onto him and started weeping. He looked at his equally shocked companions. They shook their head and shrugged, obviously uncomfortable in the situation. Draco moved to sit down and the boy momentarily detached long enough to see his face clearly. 

The boy's eyes were Doe like and bright green. His face smooth and aristocratic, his hair in a neat braid and his robes were expensive. Draco felt as if he should recognize the boy, but he didn't. The whole situation was weird and confusing. Pansy and Blaise sat down across from him, staring at the child. It took a couple of minutes for the boy to stop sobbing. And with a last cry of “ich dachte du wärst tot!” The boy pushed away from him. For a split second the boy looked to be contemplating and then he stopped crying as a blush started colouring his cheeks. A look of embarrassment swept through the boy’s features as he stood there staring again.  
“ach du liebe, I am so sorry.” The boy wiped his still damp eyes “I thought you were somebody else.” 

Draco didn't know how to react. This whole thing sounded like something in a dramatic novel his mother would read.  
“Um, no problem…” He rubbed the back of his back nervously, “are you okay?”  
“Yeah…” He sniffled “I'm fine, sorry about all… That…”  
“Why were you crying?” Pansy blurted out. The boy, who must not have seen them, jumped as he turned around.  
“Um, somebody I was close to died… He uh looked like him.” He pointed to Draco. He turned back around to face Draco.  
“I apologize, this situation is very awkward and I'm afraid that I made it that way.” He stuck a hand out to Draco. “My name is Harry Potter.” Draco took the outstretched hand in his own and shook it.  
“I'm malfoy, Draco malfoy.” He gestured to his companions, “this is Pansy Parkinson, and this is Blaise Zabini.” They all shook hands and the boy - Potter - resumed his previous seat, looking exceedingly nervous. Draco stood up, pansy and blaise following suit.  
“I'm afraid that we have to go, I will see you around?”  
“Yes… It was nice meeting you three. Again, I apologize for my crass behavior.” They all nodded and left the compartment, gently shutting the door behind them. 

They all sighed heavily and exchanged looks as they made their way back to the compartment their friends were in. 

.oOo.

Harry couldn't handle this. He lit another cigarette and opened the window. The boy he had just cried all over, was in fact not Apsel, but instead a student that shared a similar appearance. The only difference was Apsel had blue eyes and a soft face, Malfoy had silver eyes and a somewhat sharp appearance. Not Apsel. That was not Apsel. He repeated that phrase in his head for a long time, trying to even out his still hiccuping breath. The world outside the train took on a Grey filter and he changed into his school robes. He got his book back out and read for the remainder of the train ride. 

When the train stopped, Harry clambered off the train in a rush of students his age and older.  
“Firs’ years o’er ere!” called a rather large man on one side of the platform. Harry walked over to the man, noticing how he towered above even the oldest students that walked by. The first years all followed the man through a rather dense forest and to a bunch of boats.  
“No more'n four tah a boat!” the giant man yelled. He repeated the phrase a couple more times, most likely to get the point across. Harry walked over to an unoccupied boat, not overly eager to do anything more. ‘Showing excitement is just another way of showing weakness’ he said to himself as he climbed in the rowboat. A couple of girls climbed in a minute after him, obviously they either didn’t make the boat with their friends, or they didn’t have any. It didn’t matter much to him anyway so he took to looking at the black waters of the lake they were gliding across; because apparently people with magic didn’t engage in such plebian activities such as rowing a boat. 

With the first glimpse of Hogwarts, Harry felt a little awestruck, but he didn’t show it. The girls in his boat however practically squealed their excitement and started chatting about rumors surrounding the location. He decided that knowing such rumors would be useful even if he took them with a grain of salt. The topics they discussed ranged from ghosts to which houses were the best to weird things like whether or not they would see any enchanted mirrors that would complement them. Harry had written down that topic as something that narcissistic people might find enjoyable. While he was conscious about his looks in accordance to impressions, he was not overtly fond of staring at himself or thinking himself superior to others. 

When they reached a cliff side, they were told to duck as the boats went through a wall of ivy. They stopped at a shore inside the cave and climbed out of the boats.  
“Is tha’ ‘ur toad?” called the man.  
“Yes it is! Thank you Hagrid!” one boy called out after making a loud triumphant sound. The man-- Hagrid -- smiled brightly at the boy and led them all to an antechamber where they were told to wait. After a minute, a severe looking woman walked in and stood at the front of the group.  
“I can take it from here Hagrid, thank you.”  
“Ah no problem Profes’r Mcgonagall, my ple’sure!” the giant said jovially before leaving.  
“Welcome to Hogwarts: school of witchcraft and wizardry. There are four separate houses at Hogwarts. These four houses will be your family for all seven years of your attendance. There is Gryffindor, the house of the brave and courageous, Hufflepuff, house of the loyal and loving, Ravenclaw, house of the knowledgeable and wise, and finally Slytherin, house of the cunning and ambitious. No one house is better than the others and I do hope you remember that house rivalry isn’t everything.” She looked at the crowd of first years after her impromptu speech. 

“Now, I want you all to line up single file as I call your name up for the sorting, it might be wise to smarten yourself up at this time.” She eyed a student with smudges on his face and another that had wrinkled robes before sweeping through the door and disappearing. The Apsel look alike looked smugly at the boy with the smudged face. He new for sure this boy wasn't related to Apsel, for he wouldn’t ever act that way. Apsel might’ve joked a lot but he was always humble. 

They all stood in a mass waiting for the teacher to come back when several kids screamed. Harry looked around quickly, trying to find the cause, when a ghost popped up in his line of vision, he jumped a little bit but didn’t show any other reaction. Two ghosts were arguing, one ghost was silently judging students and one ghost was trying to ask a student something, much to the horror of the girl he had chosen to question. Harry sighed, this was not something he was wanting to deal with right now. 

When professor mcgonagall returned, all the students went silent and formed a line, already establishing that they didn’t want to evoke her wrath on the first day. She nodded her head in complacency and lead them all to a huge hall with sky-like ceilings. The girl from earlier made a comment about them that Harry chose to ignore. They all stopped quarter-way through the stage like set up that seemed to have only a stool with a hat on it. The students behind and in front of Harry were very confused about this and didn’t know what was happening, similar to how they felt the whole evening so far. Harry himself didn’t care what happened as long as attention wasn’t being drawn to him. 

The hat sung a little song about the houses and how important it was before turning back into a regular hat. How odd. Professor mcgonagall cleared her throat before unrolling a piece of parchment.  
“Abbott, Hannah!” she called. A blushing blonde girl with twin pigtails walked shyly to the stool before the teacher picked up the hat and placed it upon her head. The hat took a second before a loud “Hufflepuff!” was shouted. A roar of applause followed and the girl hopped off the stool and made her way over to the table with the yellow crest. The rest of the sorting went similarly, until it was at the H’s.  
“Hertz, Bem!” was called. Harry sat there a second. Surely they did not mean him right? The name was called again. He stumbled up to the stool, cursing his late reaction. He sat down and the hat was placed over his head.  
“Hmmm, good mind you have here…”  
“So you’re the sorting hat?”  
“Oh, heard’ve me eh? Well, no matter, I still have a job to do after all.”  
“Do you know why my other name was called instead of Harry Potter, Mr. hat?”  
“I can only assume that since that is your adopted name, that magic recognized it instead. Even if your Hogwarts letter didn’t follow the same guidelines.”  
“Thank you very much, now what house have you considered putting me in? I think I would like to know before you announce it so I can school my reactions properly.”  
“That reasoning alone placed you in slytherin mr. Potter, or Herr Hertz.”  
“Danke schön, Herr Hut.”  
“SLYTHERIN!” the hat cried, almost too dramatically. Harry gently removed the hat with a newfound respect and handed it to professor mcgonagall. He turned around and walked quietly to the slytherin table before sitting down softly, politely guiding his attention to the rest of the sorting. 

When the sorting was over, and no “Harry Potter” was being called, Harry looked around the table. When he met eyes with Draco, he saw a curious look in his eyes.  
“Mcgonagall called you Bem hertz, yet you introduced yourself as Harry Potter, why is that?” the boy asked quietly. Harry looked at his lap and bit his lip before looking back at Draco to answer.  
“Well, Harry Potter is my real name, but Bem Hertz is my adopted name. I thought it rude to give a false name on the train, but I guess it doesn’t matter since my name was Bem in the list,” he explained. Draco nodded and turned to the headmaster, who had risen from his seated position somewhere in the middle of Harry’s explanation. 

“"Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you." Harry blinked and turned to the table that was now full of food. He hadn’t eaten as well as he should have these last few days, so he couldn’t gorge himself despite wanting to. He very slowly took some salad and bread before carefully eating. 

 

Draco watched as Bem went about the feast. The boy was odd to say the least. His sorting had taken five minutes, and he moved as if he was in molasses. Even talked that way too. Slow and soft. The boy didn’t talk to anybody throughout the meal and was focused on meticulously eating his small salad one leaf at a time. And then there was the thing with the name. He introduced himself as Harry Potter but was sorted as Bem Hertz, yet the boy must’ve forgotten his name because he looked minutely shocked when it was called; unless he was expecting to be called by Harry Potter, his old name instead. The boy was an enigma, but Draco lay the mystery aside as he elegantly cut into the steak he was eating. 

.oOo.

Severus Snape hated a lot of things, and the beginning of the year feast was one of the things near the top of the long list. From the inane song the hat recited every year, to the children being sorted one by one into each house in a long, drawn out process. He didn’t see why the first years couldn’t be sorted into their houses beforehand and then released into the great hall to find their houses; but then again, he supposes it is important for children to feel welcomed and full of wonder at their new “home-away-from-home” (even if it means three hours of his suffering). He tuned out for some of the sorting, only half listening to the houses the children were sorted into. When Bem Hertz was announced, Severus paid full attention. He was certain that Bem Hertz was not a name on that list. When he looked at who walked up (after the name was announced twice) he saw the unpleasant sight of one Harry Potter, nervously making his way to the stool. Not that you could tell of course, but his eyes portrayed all of his emotions. The hat had called Slytherin after a surprising five minutes and Severus prepared himself for an early grave. James and Lily’s son, in his house? He must be taking the piss. He wasn’t going to act any certain way towards the boy, he was after-all introduced to him for his shopping excursion. 

After the sorting, his eyes scanned the slytherin table to confirm that nothing was going too terribly wrong on the first night back. A couple of sixth years were cozy against each other, but he figured that the behavior didn’t warrant any intervention. A fourth year - Cassius Warrington - was reading at the table, but that was a common occurrence for the boy. A second year girl was glaring at another second year girl and Severus decided to keep an eye on that. Finally, his eyes landed on his godson and the Potter-boy. His godson was engaged in a conversation with Blaise Zabini, a rather pleasant boy if Severus were to admit. Mr. Potter however, was slowly eating a salad as he kept mostly to himself. The boys eyes wandered from person to person before landing on his godson and taking a second before looking back down at his plate. Severus thought the behavior odd, but didn’t make any other plan of action besides keeping his eyes on the boy. 

When the feast was over, he watched as all the students followed their houses prefects to their common rooms. When the last student left, Severus stood up and made his way to a teacher’s passage before making his way to the dungeons. He wasn’t in all that much of a hurry since he had the way the students took was way longer than the path he was taking. With that said, he made it to the Slytherin common room first and went to his usual shadowed corner. The corner was the perfect place to lie in wait, as nobody would know you were there but one could see the whole room from the spot. 

When the prefect (a fifth year by the name of Gemma Farley) walked in, trailed by a group of first years, he prepared for his dramatic entrance; therefore establishing he was not one to be messed with. It worked every single year since he started teaching and he wasn’t about to drop the habit. He was observing the group from said corner, when he made eye contact with Potter. He stared in disbelief for a second before the boy blinked and turned back to Ms. Farley, who was finishing up her speech. Severus, slightly caught off guard, cleared his throat quietly before making his usual entrance. He laid down the house rules and basic info that he felt would be better delivered if he did so. Afterwards, he stepped out of the common room and walked to his quarters. 

He sunk down in his armchair immediately, too tired and drained from the day to do much else. He sighed and got up before getting ready for bed and the next day. 

.oOo.

After the feast, Harry followed his fellow Slytherins down to the common room. The walk itself was particularly calming, except for the incessant chatter all the other children partook in. When they reached the entrance to the common room - which was just a stone wall with a sconce across from it - they stopped.  
“The password to the common room is ‘Morsmordre’. The password changes every week, so make sure to look at the message board weekly or even daily to know what it is. Nobody outside of Slytherin is to know of this,” The fifth year prefect, Gemma Farley, explained. His peers just nodded. The older girl turned around and spoke the password and led them into the space. 

The room was very grand. The walls were a dark emerald green with dark brown and silver accents. A large fireplace comfortably lit up the room from the middle of the wall across from the entrance. Three large couches occupied the space in front of the fireplace, one directly across from the large portrait of a man hung above the source of light. The couches were a cream color with blue birds and green leaves. The pillows were a dark brown to match the woodwork. The floors were stone with different color carpets covering the space.


	2. Author Note

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An Author Note from the person who adopted this story

Hi all, I'm Elise!!

I'm honestly so excited to be adopting and continuing this story! I'll be posting it on here still, and I'll be continuing off from where Maedelmae had finished. And I hope I can live up with what Maedelmae has written so far 😊

I just want to let you guys know why I haven't updated, even though I adopted it like 2 weeks ago. 

For the past two weeks I’ve been studying for my exams and doing my exams, the week before that I was in the hospital, so I haven’t quite started anything yet! I've also had work taking up a lot of time as well, but I'm going on holidays in a week's time, so hopefully, I'll be able to write and update soon! 

Thank you to everyone, and I hope you enjoy this book! 

Love you all 3000


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets sorted, he meets his dorm mates and he can't sleep.
> 
> (Word Count:1095)

*Previously Where We Ended the Last Chapter*  
\------------------------------------  
After the feast, Harry followed his fellow Slytherins down to the common room. The walk itself was particularly calming, except for the incessant chatter all the other children partook in. When they reached the entrance to the common room - which was just a stone wall with a sconce across from it - they stopped.  
“The password to the common room is ‘Morsmordre’. The password changes every week, so make sure to look at the message board weekly or even daily to know what it is. Nobody outside of Slytherin is to know of this,” The fifth-year prefect, Gemma Farley, explained. His peers just nodded. The older girl turned around and spoke the password and led them into the space. 

The room was very grand. The walls were dark emerald green with dark brown and silver accents. A large fireplace comfortably lit up the room from the middle of the wall across from the entrance. Three large couches occupied the space in front of the fireplace, one directly across from the large portrait of a man hung above the source of light. The couches were a cream colour with bluebirds and green leaves. The pillows were a dark brown to match the woodwork. The floors were stone with different colour carpets covering the space. 

\------- LINE BREAK -----------

Harry didn’t pay much attention to the ‘Welcome To Slytherin Speech’, instead took the time to look around some more, he noticed a few bookcases, with a few book titles that caught his eye, ‘How To Train Your Mind: Occlumency’ and ‘How to Attack A Mind: Legilimency’ being two of the few that caught his eye. He vaguely remembered that those two words were on the piece of parchment at Gringotts? He did pick up a few stray words here and there, something about ‘being united’, ‘sticking close’, ‘acting like a proper Slytherin?’ and that’s all he really picked up, before realising that the first-year boys were heading to the left of the common room. “Shit, I better catch up” he silently thought as he quickly caught up to the rest. “Ahhh dorm rooms, that makes sense, I wonder who I’ll be sharing wi-“ His thoughts were cut off when the blonde boy, Draco? Called out to him.

“Hey, Bem? You’re sharing with me and the other boys! Come on” Harry nodded, walking over to them and opening the door, not before noting a golden plaque with each of their names on it ‘Blaise Zabini, Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Bem Hertz’. The dorm rooms were amazing, they each had a four-poster bed, with a bedside table. The bed had dark green drapes around them, silk forest green bed sheets and a dark wooden wardrobe that matched their bedside tables. 

“Bem, this is Blaise Zabini, Blaise this is Bem” Draco pointed to a tall, dark-skinned boy (Italian maybe?) with high cheekbones and hooded eyes. They both nodded to each other. Harry gave the taller boy a tentative smile before turning back to Draco. 

“This is Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe, Vincent, Greg, this is Bem” he pointed to a boy who had small dull eyes, short bristly hair, and broad shoulders, and then to the other boy who was a large boy, he had a thick neck, a flat nose and had a bowl-style haircut. They each gave a grunt and small head nod before turning away and closing their drapes. 

“And this is Theodore Nott, Theodore this is Bem” Draco pointed to the last boy, who was tall and thin, with sharp cheekbones, dark shaggy hair and warm chocolate eyes, he had an aristocrat aura around him, he seemed to be more friendly and warm, unlike Blaise who seemed cold and detached, and which Theodore seemed to prove the next second when he gave Harry a warm and charming smile. 

“Hiya Bem, a pleasure to meet you and please, call me Theo” he gave Harry a wink before he too turned around and closed this own drapes, Blaise had decided he wanted to do the same, leaving only Draco and Harry standing in the middle of the dorm room. 

“Thanks for introducing everyone to me, I better head to bed too! Night” Harry quickly scurried over to his own bed, closing the drapes around his bed too, he hadn’t wanted Draco to confront him about what had happened before. He quickly changed into his Pyjamas and sliding down into the soft bed. 

He fell asleep, only minutes later. 

*LINE BREAK*

Harry that night, didn’t sleep well. His night was plagued with nightmares upon nightmares, every time he managed to doze off, his mind would bring forth the horror-filled dreams of his Uncle and Aunt beating him to the point of near-death. After those nightmares finished another would go on repeat as well, one he hadn’t had for ages. 

‘Harry’s eyes immediately looked down to the blade in Apsel’s chest. Before flicking up to his closed mouth which was leaking blood. His lifeless, pale, sea-blue eyes found Harrys own dark emerald eyes. Harry felt a shiver descend down his spine as Apsel opened his mouth, a gush of blood spilling out, tendrils of blood sticking to both the top and bottom of his lips as he spoke. “It’s all your fault” it was a raspy voice that made Harry tumble away and scream. 

It was around 4 am when Harry woke up with a gasp, his eyes wet with tears trailing down his cheeks, shaking and briefly forgetting where he was, before remembering the green drapes of his, and his dormmates beds. He had always managed to bloke those out, but it must’ve resurfaced after seeing the boy that Harry vaguely remembered as Draco, due to him looking like Apsel. Harry wanted to pull out the pack of cigarettes he had previously stored in the bedside table to the left of his bed, but he couldn’t, there were no windows down in the dungeons and plus he only had a few left. 

He stumbled out of bed, quickly heading to the bathroom. Closing the door with a slight creak, Harry headed over to the sink, looking in the mirror he saw that his face was flushed, hot, his eyes were red and puffy. Splashing freezing cold water on his tanned face, and again staring into the mirror, searching for... Something? 

With a sigh he turned away from the mirror, wiping his face on the hand towel before leaving the bathroom, he tip-toed across the room to his wardrobe, grabbing sweatpants and a hoodie. He needed time to breathe and relax. So he was going for a run around the black lake.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *This is just a filler chapter BUT it has things in it that are IMPORTANT for future chapters!!!!*
> 
>    
> Harry meets someone unexpectedly, no less in his dorm room! 
> 
> (Word count: 1144)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope you guys have loved the story so far!  
> \-------------------------------------------------  
> ALL my filler chapters will be IMPORTANT to the book, small but significant things will happen within any filler chapter that will play a big role in the upcoming chapters and affect the plot for the story!  
> \--------------------------------------------------  
> If you have any ideas for chapter names than feel free to leave a comment, giving your idea!  
> \--------------------------------------------------  
> Also, I will be taking every comment into consideration, so if you have an idea for a chapter or you would like to see happen then feel free to leave a comment with your idea!  
> \--------------------------------------------------  
> I'll be holding polls on certain things, so look out for those too!  
> \---------------------------------------------------  
> I'm sorry for this long authors note! And I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter! THANK YOU SO MUCH for those you have stayed with this story through slow updates and getting a new author (me!) Maedelmae and I appreciate it!  
> \---------------------------------------------------  
> ENJOY THE STORY!  
> \--------------------------------------------------

'Thoughts' - Italics 

Previously Where We Ended the Last Chapter*  
\----------------------------------------  
He stumbled out of bed, quickly heading to the bathroom. Closing the door with a slight creak, Harry headed over to the sink, looking in the mirror he saw that his face was flushed, hot, his eyes were red and puffy. Splashing cold water on his tanned face, and again staring into the mirror, searching for... Something? 

With a sigh he turned away from the mirror, wiping his face on the hand towel before leaving the bathroom, he tip-toed across the room to his wardrobe, grabbing sweatpants and a hoodie. He needed time to breathe and relax. So, he was going for a run around the black lake.

\------- LINE BREAK -----------

He quickly put on his battered and worn-out sneakers, and slowly made his way out of his dorm room, closing the door with a slight click. Harry took a small breath and looked around, nobody was in the hallway, so he quickly scurried down to the common room, stopping at the entrance of the common room. He pushed himself against the wall, into the darkness and he quickly scanned the room. Nobody was in the room. The fire was slowly dying, embers floating out of the hearth and around the room slowly, the water of the black lake was slowly pulsing against the glass of the room, a long tentacle floated past, every colour fish imageable, darting under and over the tentacle as it slowly moved past the view of the glass. Harry thought he even caught a glimpse of a mermaid’s tail swimming past. All Harry could do was stare in wonder, this moment felt so perfect and, at this moment, he felt content, he felt like he belonged… it was beyond magical. The moment was ruined however, when an ugly creature came crashing into the glass, which spurred Harry back into action, quickly running out of the common room door. He carefully made his way out of the entrance hall doors, down the stairs and onto the dirt path leading down to the Lake, and then which continued to a small hut, and the Forbidden Forest. He took a sharp turn off from the path and started jogging from the shallow end of the lake to the deep end of the lake. 

For an hour and a half, he jogged and ran around the lake, his thoughts jumping around in his mind. The sun slowly started to rise, breaking Harry out of his thoughts and into reality. He was hot, bothered and tired. The sun hit the cool water of the lake, bringing one thought to Harrys brain “Jump”, quickly taking off his shoes and socks and jump he did. With a loud splash, Harry was in the water, laughing his head off, as he swam away from everyone and everything. 

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The sun was beating down now, the heat was uncomfortably warm, which was to Harry, a good thing due to his clothes being saturated. He had finally gotten out of the lake when he started hearing other students bustling around inside the castle, presumably heading to the Great Hall for breakfast. So, Harry dragged himself out of the lake and started slowly trudging back up the dirt path, enjoying the sun on his back, slowly drying his clothes, next time he vowed to bring proper swimming wear since he decided he’ll do this every morning from now on.

He didn’t want to face everyone quite yet, so he waited outside the doors until everyone was at breakfast. This way, he thought, his clothes would also dry better, so it was a win situation. After waiting a good 15 minutes, Harry stood up and opened the door, slowly sliding in the small gap, and started jogging back to his common to change into the appropriate gear for classes, dodging the few stray students along the way. He finally made it back to the common room, saying the password quickly, he stumbled inside. Making his way to his dorm room to grab his uniform and bag, along with the things he’ll need for a quick shower. 

When he opened his dorm room door, he never expected to see a small creature, that of two to three feet tall, with spindly arms and legs, with an oversized head and large eyes that were the same size as a tennis ball. The creature had bat-like ears and wore a clean cloth, that almost look like a pillowcase, with the Hogwarts crest embroidered on at the top left corner. 

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU? “He screamed, stumbling back in shock. The creature fell over, obviously scared, panic over its face. 

“Me so very sorry Sir! Me didn’t mean to startle Sir. I Lucy, I house elves, I shall take me leave” The creature-Lucy squeaked in a high squeaky voice, bending in a low bow. 

“Wait! No! That was incredibly rude of me, I’m Harry, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Lucy. I hope I didn’t scare too badly? And please stay, I’m interested in hearing about house elves, I’ve never met nor heard of a house-elf before.” 

“If you’re sure Sir Harry, I know sir didn’t mean to scare me!..... You want to know bout house elves? Oh, me so happy! Me would be honoured!” Lucy quickly scrambled to hold Harry’s hand. 

“Sir must come with me to the kitchen! It’s a long story and sir hasn’t had brekkie yet. Come come!” Lucy was bouncing on the balls of her small feet, pulling on Harry’s hand. Harry obliged, letting the small creature pull him along the many corridors to a massive frame, a picture of a fruit bowl sat in the middle. To say Harry was confused was an understatement, though it didn’t last long as Lucy quickly tickled the pear within the picture, and the frame swung opened, allowing Lucy and Harry to enter into a massive kitchen. Harry was pushed into a sitting stall, plates upon plates full of food were shoved his way with an arrange of different drinks.

“Sir look very unhealthy, too skinny” many of the house-elves around him nodded and gave him a look of disappointment, watching him with their big eyes until he took a bite of some very fluffy pancakes, covered in ice-cream and maple syrup, after which they nodded and turned around. 

‘For sure, I am skinny’ Harry thought ‘But I look way better than I did, after the Goblins fixed me up, I’ve gained that height I should’ve had… and I’m NOT that skinny’ Harry broke out of his thoughts after realising Lucy had started her story already

After all, this was important, he genuinely liked Lucy and the other house-elves but he wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t doing this for the long term effect either….. having house elves on your side was going to be useful. 

Harry smiled.


End file.
